An improved trade performance and robust home building helped the U.S. economy expand at a revised 3.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter, faster than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said on Thursday in a statement carried by Reuters. Previously, the Commerce Department estimated that gross domestic product, or GDP, which measures total goods and services production within U.S. borders, had grown at a 3.1 percent annual rate in the three months from January through March -- at the time the slowest advance in GDP in two years. The upwardly revised growth represents only a modest slowing from the fourth quarter's 3.8 percent pace. It came in slightly below Wall Street economists' forecasts for a 3.6 percent rate. Growth in spending by both consumers and businesses softened from fourth-quarter rates but still supported a view from Federal Reserve and by Bush administration officials that the economy was on track for steady growth. "I expect strong economic growth in the United States to continue," Treasury Secretary John Snow said. Analysts agreed and said it meant short-term interest rates will keep rising. --More 0042 Local Time 2142 GMT
